We all know and love Arif Lohar’s iconic rendition of Jugni, but did you know that Jugni is more than just a song about a lovelorn woman? In Punjabi folk music, Jugni is a concept, not a person.
A Twitter thread by a user named Lalkaar recently dove into the history of Jugni, and noted that according to Punjabi folk etymology, a woman went out in search of her lost lover, in the guise of a female yogi, or a ‘Jogan’, which is where the word Jugni comes from.
From Jogan was derived the name 'Jugni'
She became a character of Punjabi poetry; she had travelled the lands far and wide, and hence was used by poets to make cutting observations or descriptions about events & places.
— Lalkaar (@Lalkaar_) October 30, 2022
Sometimes, Jugni is also used to represent spirutial devotion to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and refers to someone who is a ‘jugni’ of someone who is a devotee of Allah or the Prophet (PBUH).
The refrain stanza serves the purposes of musical harmony. Frequently repeated, it aids the rhyme scheme & connects Jugni with holy figures, for it is the 'Jugni of the ones who are [devotees] of Allah' & 'The Holy Prophet'
Many Jugni poems have similar refrain lines or stanzas.
— Lalkaar (@Lalkaar_) October 30, 2022
The historic origin of some of the earliest poems invoking the figure of jugni is also mentioned. “One of the earliest known Jugni poems is set in the 1857 War of Independence against the British, sung by Punjabi rebels crossing the Bastar stream,” says the tweet, noting that jugni continued to be associated with rebellion, resistance and war.
The rebels lost, but the association of Jugni with resistance and war continued, notably in 1906 when Queen Victoria went on a tour of India as part of her jubilee celebrations.
Festivities took place in major cities under the charge of DCs and grand fairs were held.
— Lalkaar (@Lalkaar_) October 30, 2022
In addition to representing love, devotion, spiritual connection and religiosity, and war and resistance, Jugni also represented socio-economic differences & the plight of the poor.
Jugni was also used to express socio-economic differences & the plight of the poor, such as a poem in which Jugni is distressed at the plight of 'Bahaadu' who can only stare at 'Nahaadu' eating rich meals.
It is in the Potohari dialect of Punjabi. ['MahaaRi' here means my] pic.twitter.com/5ZkSlrZTlP
— Lalkaar (@Lalkaar_) October 30, 2022
On a final note – Jugni is thus also an example of the unique literary and musical mediums of expression in Punjabi, and testament of the high degree of literary intelligence possessed by Punjabis which would've been required to create, use and enjoy such poetic forms.
— Lalkaar (@Lalkaar_) October 30, 2022
